The Big Leagues launches UK sports prize draw platform after £500,000 seed round

The Big Leagues, a prize draw platform aimed at sports fans in the UK, went live last week following a £500,000 ($662,077) seed funding round. The platform offers paid entries to prize draws for sports-related rewards, alongside free-to-play prediction games.

The company was founded by Adam Shaw, who previously served as international director at Flutter Entertainment and as chief revenue officer at Superbet. He told iGB that he looked at several parts of the market for an area with growth and meaningful consumer demand, and concluded that prize draws fit both criteria.

The sector is increasingly crowded. A white paper published earlier this year by the consultancy Rokker valued the UK prize draw market at £1.3 billion in annual revenue, with more than 400 active operators. Shaw argues that existing sports-focused operators have each concentrated on a single sport and have reached a ceiling, and he wants The Big Leagues to cover multiple sports in one place. The platform focuses on experience-led prizes, such as a trip to the Masters, Champions League hospitality and a box at the Cheltenham Festival, rather than mainly merchandise.

For player acquisition, Shaw plans to use the free-to-play prediction games as an audience-building tool, an approach he says he learned in the gambling industry. In its launch announcement, the company said it is actively seeking partnerships with brands, sports organisations and charities. Shaw said this also extends to content creators, influencers and sports clubs, which could use the games to engage audiences or the prize draws to monetise them.

Shaw's stated ambition is for The Big Leagues to become the leading sports prize draw website in the UK. He also describes it as a mass-market third option positioned between gambling and fantasy sports.

Regulation is a live issue for the sector. UK prize draws operate within a complex framework in which classification under gambling and lottery law depends on structure and how prizes are awarded. A Voluntary Code of Good Practice was introduced last year, though Rokker's white paper said fewer than 20% of estimated active operators had signed up. The Big Leagues has signed the code and is a member of the newly established Prize Competition Council trade body. Shaw says the company is doing everything by the book and would welcome regulation.